CGL Coverage B (Personal & Advertising Injury) and Coverage C (Medical Payments)
Key Takeaways
- Coverage B insures personal and advertising injury, a list of named offenses (false arrest, libel, slander, wrongful eviction, disparagement, slogan/copyright infringement), triggered by the offense.
- Coverage B excludes knowing falsehood, criminal acts, breach of contract, media businesses, and patent or trademark infringement.
- Coverage C pays reasonable medical expenses for injuries on the premises or from operations on a no-fault basis within a stated period.
- Coverage C excludes the insured, employees, tenants, and participants, and does not apply where A or B responds.
Coverage B: Personal and Advertising Injury
Coverage B insures liability for personal and advertising injury, a set of named offenses rather than accidents. Unlike Coverage A, which is triggered by an occurrence, Coverage B is triggered by the commission of an offense during the policy period. It provides a defense like Coverage A.
| Personal injury offenses | Advertising injury offenses |
|---|---|
| False arrest, detention, imprisonment | Disparaging a competitor's goods or services |
| Malicious prosecution | Infringing copyright, trade dress, or slogan in an ad |
| Wrongful eviction or entry | Oral/written publication that violates privacy |
| Libel, slander, defamation | Use of another's advertising idea |
| Oral or written publication violating privacy | (committed in the insured's advertisement) |
The Covered Offenses
Coverage B responds to listed offenses such as false arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction, libel and slander, invasion of privacy, and, in the advertising context, disparagement, copyright or slogan infringement, and use of another's advertising idea. Because these are offenses rather than accidental occurrences, intentional commission is inherent, the coverage exists precisely for these deliberate-act offenses, subject to exclusions for knowing falsehood, criminal acts, and breach of contract.
Coverage B Exclusions
Coverage B excludes injury caused by the insured knowing the statement was false, injury from a criminal act, injury arising from breach of contract, and offenses by an insured in the business of advertising, broadcasting, or publishing (those need a media liability policy). It also excludes infringement of patent or trademark (only copyright, trade dress, and slogan in advertising are covered). The exam tests that a knowing falsehood or a media business is excluded, while an ordinary business's accidental disparagement or slogan infringement in its own ad is covered.
Coverage C: Medical Payments
Coverage C pays reasonable medical expenses for bodily injury caused by an accident on the insured's premises or arising from the insured's operations, regardless of fault, when the expense is incurred and reported within a stated period (often one year). Like homeowners Coverage F, it is a small, no-fault goodwill coverage meant to settle minor injuries quickly and head off liability suits.
It does not apply to injuries to the insured, employees (workers compensation), tenants, or persons injured while taking part in the insured's operations, and it is excluded where Coverage A or B would respond.
Distinguishing the Three Coverages
The exam separates the CGL coverages by the kind of harm. A customer's slip-and-fall is Coverage A bodily injury (and Coverage C may pay the small medical bill no-fault). A defamatory statement in the insured's ad is Coverage B advertising injury. A wrongful-eviction claim is Coverage B personal injury. A patent-infringement claim is excluded.
Read the harm first, accidental bodily injury or property damage points to A and possibly C; a listed personal or advertising offense points to B, then confirm the trigger (occurrence for A and C, offense for B) and scan the Coverage B exclusions for knowing falsehood or a media business. This sorting is the core CGL skill the exam tests across Coverages A, B, and C.
A retailer's own advertisement accidentally uses a competitor's protected slogan. Which CGL coverage most likely responds?
Coverage C medical payments under the CGL pays for a visitor's minor injury on what basis?
Sorting Among Coverages A, B, and C
The CGL's three insuring agreements respond to different harms, so sorting the claim is the core skill. Coverage B insures personal and advertising injury, a list of offenses (false arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, disparagement, and copyright, trade-dress, or slogan infringement in advertising), triggered by the offense, not an occurrence. Coverage C pays reasonable medical expenses for a third party's injury on the premises or from operations on a no-fault basis within a stated period.
Coverage B's exclusions are tested directly: it excludes knowing falsehood, criminal acts, breach of contract, offenses by a media business (advertising, broadcasting, publishing), and patent or trademark infringement, only copyright, trade dress, and slogan in advertising are covered.
| Claim | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Customer's slip-and-fall (small bill) | C (and A if liable) |
| Defamation in the insured's ad | B (advertising injury) |
| Wrongful eviction of a tenant | B (personal injury) |
| Patent infringement | Excluded |
The sort is: accidental bodily injury or property damage points to A (and possibly C for a small no-fault medical bill); a listed personal or advertising offense points to B; a knowing falsehood or a media business is excluded. Coverage C does not apply to the insured, employees (workers compensation), tenants, or participants, and not where A or B responds. Reading the harm first, then confirming the trigger (occurrence for A and C, offense for B) and scanning the Coverage B exclusions, resolves the CGL coverage-allocation questions the exam favors.
Sort the CGL claim by harm: accidental bodily injury or property damage points to Coverage A (and possibly Coverage C for a small no-fault medical bill); a listed personal or advertising offense points to Coverage B; and a knowing falsehood, a media business, or patent or trademark infringement is excluded from B. Coverage B is triggered by the offense, not an occurrence, and covers disparagement and copyright, trade-dress, or slogan infringement in the insured's own advertising.
Coverage C excludes the insured, employees (workers compensation), tenants, and participants, and does not apply where A or B responds.